Thandiwe Newton slams Sean Penn for comments on masculinity in America
Feb 01, 2022
Washington [US], February 1 : British actor Thandiwe Newton has called out Sean Penn for his recent comments about men being too "feminized" in American culture.
According to Fox News, Penn had recently doubled down on comments he made to a British newspaper in which he argued that he believes men are finding it fashionable or empowering to adopt more feminine traits and reject masculinity.
Penn stated that he believes "cowardly genes" are to blame for what he sees as masculinity becoming vilified in American culture. In response, the 'Westworld' actor took to Twitter to sound off on Penn by calling him a "jibbering fool."
"Dude what are you SAY-ING?? Like for REAL? You're a jibbering FOOL. MF you used to be sexy but now you're just tragic," she wrote in a tweet on Monday.
In his latest interview, which he did alongside his daughter, Dylan, Penn held firm to what he previously stated regarding his views on masculinity.
He stated, "I think that men have, in my view, become quite feminised. I have these very strong women in my life who do not take masculinity as a sign of oppression toward them. There are a lot of, I think, cowardly genes that lead to people surrendering their jeans and putting on a skirt."
In a follow-up tweet, Newton implied that Penn should feel bad for making his statements next to his daughter, who the newspaper stated was "quiet" and "stared into space" while her dad sounded off about gender roles.
She also implied that he was making the cast and minds behind 'Licorice Pizza' look bad as well. "In front of your DAUGHTER!? That poor little mite. Thank God her Mum's so dope. Please stop ruining the brilliance of #LicoricePizza with this nonsense," she wrote.
As People magazine noted, Penn hasn't been shy about sounding off on feminist issues in the past. The outlet notes that he criticized the #MeToo movement in 2018 during an appearance on the 'Today' show. "We don't know what's a fact in many of the cases," he said at the time.
Penn added, "Salacious is as soon as you call something a movement that is really a series of many individual accusers, victims, accusations, some of which are unfounded. The spirit of much of what has been the #MeToo movement is to divide men and women."
